Yo, is this Systemic Injustice?

The United States has deep roots in racism and systemic injustices, but what defines a case of systemic injustice? These are practices or actions that are deeply ingrained and embedded in the country’s core foundations and systems beginning centuries ago and persisting today. Our panel will break down present day issues and determine if they are deemed systemic injustices and call for large scale systemic solutions.

Grace Manhoff: Today I am joined by Chloe and Abed and we are going to break down the lasting effects of a practice known as redlining and determine whether this is considered a systemic injustice. For a brief background on this topic, redlining occurs when business loans and mortgages are denied for lower income people and minority groups. This determines which areas in a city are considered secure for real estate investment and which are not.

Chloe Knoll: That’s right Grace, and during the early 20th century this was more of a formal practice of segregation because there were actual formal restrictions on who could buy certain homes and there were also informal methods being used such as harassment when people of color moved into white neighborhoods.

Abed Adi: So even though this practice was more formal about one hundred years ago, there are so many lasting effects that are persisting due to these blatant acts of segregation. A real world example of this practice is Columbus, Ohio. In the 1930s, an actual map was created which detailed which areas around the city were considered secure for investments and which weren’t and this dictated the racial makeup of neighborhoods in Franklin county.

GM: Yeah and even though this map was created nearly 100 years ago, these initial borders still tend to define racial makeups of neighborhoods and we can see a great deal of segregation existing around Columbus, even though it is not necessarily “formal” today. This is especially concerning because of the negative health, safety, and education outcomes resulting from this practice known as redlining.

CK: Redlining, and segregation in general, has undeniable effects on policing. If you’ve been following the Black Lives Matter movement, you might already know that the police system originated from slave patrols, groups that terrorized slaves and returned runaways to their owners. Obviously, those were racist organizations, and the evolution from slave patrols to policing as we know it has continued to uphold racist constructs in whatever way was acceptable at the time. Daanika Gordon, a professor of sociology, has been studying differences in policing between white and Black neighborhoods. She found that in white neighborhoods, police are for the most part helpful problem solvers, working with the population to meet their needs. Black neighborhoods differ in two ways. There, police focus on stopping violence, often in aggressive ways such as investigatory stops. However, they are slower to provide emergency services because of the increased 911 calls in those areas (Smyton).

AA: That checks out. Investigatory stops have been controversial for a while – I think it’s an important point to make that conducting these stops reinforces the association of blackness and crime with the police. They need reasonable suspicion to legally conduct the stop, but this is bound to affect innocent residents whose only suspicious trait is their skin color. But how does this all relate to redlining?

GM: Well, redlining inherently places a higher value on white neighborhoods; white people, who are overall wealthier than Black people, make and contribute more to a city’s economy, so they are seen as a worthwhile investment. This leaves less money for Black neighborhoods, which are already disadvantaged because of the process through which they were established (i.e. segregation and redlining). Because of this, Black neighborhoods end up needing more resources that they don’t receive because they aren’t considered economically worthwhile. Then, the police presence has to dedicate most of its time to controlling crime instead of eliminating underlying causes.

CK: Exactly. This creates a strained relationship—if not outright distrust—between the police and the communities they’re supposed to protect. And that often prevents Black people from calling the police in situations where they actually need help. Even as the victim in a situation, they have to worry about whether they might end up arrested or dead by the end of the interaction.

AA: It’s an unfortunate but evidence-based reality. A study from Boston University gave each state a “racism index,” a measure of segregation along with other elements that display or contribute to systemic racism. One author said, “The more racially segregated the neighborhoods in a state, the more striking the ratio of black to white police shootings of unarmed victims.” While high policing is part of the issue, it also stems from implicit bias (Demby).

CK: Yep – we were talking before about how segregation leads to the association of crime with Black people, since their communities are more likely to be violent or dangerous (again, due to redlining). This study says that the more segregated a place is, the more biased the local officers will be. It’s easy to see how that leads to more fatal police encounters for Black people; if an officer deems someone dangerous, they are more likely to use deadly force in that interaction. Ergo, more structural racism means more biased cops means more Black people dead by police.

AA: In addition to the dangers Black people face from the police, there are also massive health concerns in relation to redlining and segregation of the demographic. As it is found that Black people are forced into areas that are regrettably less financially supported, the quality of most of the ongoings within the region also go down. There is medical research suggesting that Black people are more susceptible to disease due to air pollution and poor air quality, but the more important suggestion is that Black neighborhoods are consistently placed in areas that are more susceptible to having poor air quality. Transportation, including trains, buses, and truck stations, as well as factories and the implementation of ecologically harmful buildings near and around Black neighborhoods does Black people no favors. The air quality worsens, Black people suffer greatly, and the neighborhood begins to decline as a result. As all this happens, advancements in health and healthcare are made in other regions. We even see this type of behavior happen on a larger international scale as well.

GM: Due to the higher concentration of poverty in many of these areas, we are also seeing poor education outcomes. Now this can be associated with another system that is filled with injustices in this country and that is funding for public schools. Public schools get a large amount of their funding from property taxes.

AA: So that would mean that schools in wealthier areas receive more money than schools in lower income areas, right?

CK: Exactly Abed. Which means that these neighborhoods which were created by redlining which tend to be populated by people of color and marginalized groups are often forced to send their children to underfunded schools.

GM: Furthermore, we see that kids who attend underfunded schools are at a severe disadvantage and are less prepared for success after grade school, which can reinforce cycles of poverty. The effects of neighborhood segregation, or redlining, has led to school districts that have primarily BIPOC students receiving $23 billion less funding annually than school districts that are primarily white students.

CK: So it is pretty clear that this historical practice based on discriminatory ideals has led to devastating effects on individual families and has extenuated cycles of poverty around the United States. I think we may have come to a conclusion then, is this issue considered systemic injustice?

AA: Absolutely Chloe, we are definitely seeing systemic injustice here. It is clear that Black neighborhoods are dealt a significant unfair advantage when it comes to basic qualities of life. Redlining is essentially a form of segregation, and it’s inarguable that it’s a situation that has evolved from these times, essentially becoming woven into and deeply systemic in society. Black people are born into Black neighborhoods which receive extensively worse, unfair, and unjust treatment.

GM: So now that we have decided that this is most certainly an example of systemic injustice, what systemic changes can possibly be made to alleviate the effects of this issue?

CK: Well, in terms of policing, I think the clearest answer is to stop focusing on crime prosecution in Black communities, and turn that focus towards crime prevention. These areas need real investment; in schools, community centers, and housing, to name a few. Improved resources for finding employment, better drug or addiction treatment, and mental health services would also be extremely helpful. If this means reallocating police funds, then so be it. White areas tend to have reasonable access to all of these things, and as a result they have less crime and better relationships with police. Once Black communities have comparable resources, they will be safer and won’t require such a heavy police presence.

Segregated by Design

References

Demby, Gene. “How Segregation Shapes Fatal Police Violence.” NPR, NPR, 2 Mar. 2018, https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/03/02/589483471/how-segregation-shapes-fatal-police-shootings.

“The Origins of Modern Day Policing.” NAACP, 9 May 2021, https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/origins-modern-day-policing.

“Redlining.” Engaging Columbus, https://sites.owu.edu/engagingcolumbus/redlining/.

“Segregated by Design.” Segregated By Design, https://www.segregatedbydesign.com/.

Smyton, Robin. “How Racial Segregation and Policing Intersect in America.” Tufts Now, 17 June 2020, https://now.tufts.edu/articles/how-racial-segregation-and-policing-intersect-america

Melanin changes education 

Hello Everybody, Welcome to the Yo this is a racism podcast. My name is Yadnya Sonawane and today I want to talk about the importance of melanin and how education has changed because of it. I enjoy school and have always enjoyed learning about new things from identifying cells under a microscope to solving a simple algebra problem. Unfortunately, as a student of color, I quickly figured out that I had different standards that I had to live up to and I was excluded from a lot of activities. Of Course, every child studied hard and continued to be an upstanding student. However, some clubs definitely included kids with only specific races. Every student that was asked could name the clubs which had higher set standards for specific races. And when asked about the smartest kids, Asian Americans were always named first. “They’re like, ‘Oh, you’re Chinese and you’re good at math,’” the book quotes a girl called Angela as saying. “It’s advantageous when they think that.”(Kristof). This just came up in the new york times.  Now while I’m not saying whether they are or aren’t smarter than other races, one should not simply judge or expect a certain result based on skin color. 

Systemic racism persists throughout history and is overlooked by thousands of people today. It has no place in such a progressive world however, we’ve become blind to see that it constantly influences the people around us. While racism has changed over the years, it continues to be the existing reason why people feel neglected when trying to pursue the educational opportunities they desire. In this podcast, I want to discuss a few recent stories dealing with hateful commentary and stereotypical push that our society has turned a blind eye to. 

A slight change in melanin from student to student continues to cause a divide in the educational system. Educational injustice is a concept we’ve overlooked in the past because we’ve grown accustomed to the “normal” stereotypes. People around the world immigrate to the United States to better their education and earn a living of which they couldn’t in their own country. However, what we have not been aware of is the limited job interviews specific races encounter as well as the standard each race is held to with their high school and college education. Starting young, a recent story, a young Latino girl, Alejandra was discouraged from taking higher-level courses and pushed towards pursuing a degree at a community college with her fellow Latinos.

Is this racism?

To me, I would have simply overlooked this on a normal day-to-day circumstance however the subtle cues of discrimination incite racism that goes unnoticed. Alejandra was discriminated against when trying to pursue her dreams. Being an intelligent individual she was undermined for her skills in math and English by being discouraged from taking challenging courses. Because of the color or her skin, she is seen as different from the other students at the school. This small advice from the counselor could be seen as segregation and the dominant reason why racism still exists in the public education system. Minorities are unknowingly excluded from clubs, classes, and friend groups at school. 

Are there instances where students are held to a higher standard than they might be able to take in?

Unfortunately, the flip side of this scenario also exists. Harvard University has been known to discriminate during the admission process. In the past year, “the Boston campus accepted 5 percent less applicants than previous years’ ‘ This is due to the fact that Harvard holds Asian Americans to higher standards than other applicants. This process significantly puts these applications at a disadvantage. While Alejandra was discriminated against and told to follow her fellow latinos, the asian americans are all seen as the exact same and have raised the bar for their application. 

How is this affecting students now and the future generation? 

As a Asian American student wanting to go to graduate school, the racial stereotype has always been persistent from students and teachers expecting higher and better-educated material. While I don’t know much about the insides of the public education system here, it continues to be a major source of the persisting racism that holds every race to a different standard. Although I think that individuals should have their own standards of success and dreams to pursue, restricting them to specific standards based on skin color or accent is perpetuating the inequality between races.

How it relates to Spiewak and the othering 

Like a lot of our previous material covered, systemic injustice persists in many forms. In this case, we can relate it to the idea of subaltern from Spivak. As she questions, if the subaltern can speak, we soon realize that they don’t have a voice. With the educational system, the subalterns are the minority that gets treated differently and isn’t allowed to have an opinion against the school board. Thinking about the othering, the students that don’t fit the educational expectations in a good or bad way of their race are seen as the “other” and their racial group is seen as self.  

What other biases could this affect later?

In a society where money changes lifestyle, having a lower educational background with restrictive job opportunities can limit an individual’s ability to pursue their career dreams. While this simple bias at a young age may seem like a small dial to us then, the subtle cues of racism later can affect mental health, job segregation, and residential segregation. If future generations are treated the same way and never learn from our past, we may never push away from incorrect stereotypes and hear more than just a single story. 

Can there ever be an equal education in the United States? 

As I think about equality in public education, there are several factors to consider. To me, equal education doesn’t mean every student is treated equally but rather an equity. Each student should have the same chance to achieve their dreams. To eliminate the systemic racism that continues to persist, we need to realize the unintentional hints towards racism as well as how to educate the younger generation on the difference between a joke and segregation by teachers and other students. Like with any other bias, change comes with time. However, since we live in an opinionated society, there is no way to completely remove racism and learn everything from science to math on the same playing field. 

From this podcast, I hope you guys can learn to actively listen for subtle cues of racism even in places where stereotyping should be removed. It’s important to look at these situations under a microscope to understand how people feel. Thinking about it, more than 50 percent of the school is a minority and with such low education equity, it’s important for our youth especially our privileged youth to change education for the better.  

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/11/opinion/sunday/the-asian-advantage.html

https://www.ajc.com/blog/get-schooled/colleges-hold-asian-american-applicants-higher-standards/d1uFiQ8jrWNdXPC9DjRzeO/

https://psmag.com/education/racism-in-schools-unintentional-3821

Yo, is This Classist

Trinity>> My team and I received an email from a reader that we think a lot of people will be able to relate to. Before sharing their story, we’d like to say that they asked to remain anonymous and we will 100% respect this wish. “Dear Trinity, James and Abdullahi, my husband and I recently have been arguing a lot and it all leads back to finances. He comes from a family of wealth who never had to worry about the current financial status. I grew up with a single father who had to work three jobs to keep food on the table and clothes on mine and my siblings’ backs. My husband doesn’t understand why I still have student loans to pay off and he gets irritated that the majority of my paychecks every month go towards paying them off. He doesn’t understand why I stress so much over our finances and saving money for emergencies. I am terrified of one of us losing our job and putting my kids through the stress of not knowing where their next meal is coming from like I did. He spends our money on trivial things like, money and wealth means nothing to him. I don’t think he understands what my childhood was like and I don’t know how to get him to understand. If I could just get him to see things from my point of view I think our marriage would be healthier. How can I stop my marriage from falling apart over finances?”

Abdullahi>> I believe many people can relate to this with their significant others or friends who come from a different background and upbringing than them.

James>> Classism is such a tricky thing to identify because it can come in many different shapes and forms. As described on https://classism.org/about-class/what-is-classism/ the best way to describe this situation falls under the classism definition of “disdain or shame about traditional patterns of class in one’s family and a denial of heritage.” Not being able to understand someone’s way of finances and understanding of money is classism. It’s something that should be understood by everyone, regardless if they’re upper middle class, rich, or ultra rich. Showing empathy towards someone else’s financial standing is required to be a functioning member of society.

Trinity>> What he is missing here is simply something that he didn’t grow up with, the anxiety caused by not being able to pay bills. He doesn’t have a clue in the world to understand what she is going through. In order to understand, he would have to change the way he has been living his whole life. When the wife was younger, her father was extremely conscious with his finances, and often this affected his mood and decision making capabilities. When she was young and experienced this, it caused her to have the same reaction towards finances. Children will always mimic their parents, and when it comes to reactions this is no different. The stress that comes with lack of generational wealth is passed down, simply because it is all a vicious cycle that can’t be broken. 

Abdullahi>>After interpreting her side, let’s look at his. He has constantly lived comfortably his entire life. He lives as ‘ignorance is bliss.’ If he doesn’t worry about it, then it won’t affect him. She is being much more realistic in this sense. The money is not pipelined to him through his parents. Not only that but the lack of a huge student loan you have to pay off is a huge stress reliever. Right now, from the sounds of it, they are financially sound. This can never be enough though. Especially at a time like this. Almost two years ago, the

 world was absolutely shocked and this mindset that the husband is in could easily have put the family on the street. His actions need to change. One thing that can be done is educating him. Perhaps bringing up stories from her childhood could help. If she treats some money saving techniques as normal, then he will soon pick up on. An example of this is something like leftovers, a true neutral ground. A lot of families take priority on something like leftovers. They would like to get their money’s worth for their food and keep it as long as they can. Others will immediately throw out food when they are done with it. Now no one should accuse someone of classism for throwing out food, because all this does is take away from real examples of classism and make them unable to be taken seriously. But, by integrating something like saving leftovers into someone’s life, it will seemingly become 2nd nature to them. By consistently doing other things that save money, it will boost their awareness for these certain circumstances. 

James>> I think something that could make the both of you a lot more comfortable is creating a monthly spending budget. This would give you a sense of comfort while also helping your husband understand how spending money on trivial things could be adding up and affecting you guys in the long run. I think this could give you guys the best of both worlds by helping you live comfortably while also being able to use the money you work hard for on fun things. 

Trinity>> I agree that having a balance sheet and budget could help you guys to plan to have so much money set aside for all your nee

ds. Although it is important to be cautious with your spending, I also think it’s important to buy something for yourself every so often. Or spend some of the money to take your family out to do something exciting. You can’t live your life in constant fear of money running out. This mindset could negatively affect your children if they think you and your husband are tight on money and they continue to hear you arguing about it. 

Abdullahi>> Back to what was said before, I think you should definitely share stories with your husband of your childhood. Tell him how the topic of money and finances made you feel as a kid. Hearing your concerns from more of a personal and emotional standpoint could help him to see your point of view better and understand where you are coming from.

James>> I 100% agree with what has been said so far. Everyone has a background story that sometimes needs to be told to someone, in this case your husband, to help acknowledge them where you’re coming fr

om and how you’re planning to overcome your problem, and in your case the debt. Again, going back to the topic of creating a monthly spending budget, by doing this you’ll be seen as more independent as well as being more comfortable as your husband will understand how you’ll overcome it. It could also be a team effort, he can also help you whilst saving money for the two of you to enjoy.

Trinity>> This instance is so common, well, around the country. Classism is abundant and it’s hurting the working class of America. 

We won’t fix American politics until we talk about class | Joan C. Williams | TEDxMileHigh

Abdullahi>> This video is a Ted Talk by Joan C. Williams. She does an excellent job putting classism into perspective. There is evidence of clear wealth inequality in the United States. Right now, the rich are the richest they’ve ever been. So if we listen to what Williams said, the most interesting thing I heard right away is how we see this deletion of the middle class coming from the way we view blue collar workers. She describes how back in the day blue collar workers were celebrated, and they had murals painted about them. This all changed however in the 70s when Archie Bunker from All in the Family was creat

ed and depicted a fat stupid blue collar worker. Then came someone like Homer Simpson as another example. You have to remember who writes these characters, Hollywood writers making Williams. Really put things like that in a different perspective because I can think of 20 other examples of this. This destroyed the middle class, now more than ever kids didn’t want to accept these jobs and ultimately became poorer. This is an extremely 

interesting concept to think about. We can almost track what is called the death of the American dream to these certain cultural concepts. Another one that’s hurting is how different parts of the country view some of the other parts of the country. Such as hillbillie

s or hicks. It’s classism at it’s finest and it’s often overlooked because so many of the people that people associate with don’t find it offensive. Those people at the butt of their jokes are the heart of the working class. They should be honored and respected. If we can try and go back to the way we were before where we respected the working class and they were honored, the country would succeed.

James>>Classism is a tricky concept to understand, because most people don’t recognize their Classist actions. This is because people commonly associate themselves with pe
ople with the same income. Please try and be more conscious about your statements and consider yourself in someone else’s shoes. As soon as we can do this, working class of the country will succeed and we will all live in a better place.

Sources: 

Christina, Posted by. “Classism and Disability.” Christina Irene, 28 Apr. 2020,                                                                http://www.christinairene.com/wp/archives/1311. 

“Class Action.” Class Action, 7 June 2021, https://classism.org/. 

“Classism.” Learned Curiosity, 17 Jan. 2011,                            https://learnedcuriosity.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/classism/. 

“What Is Classism.” Class Action, 19 Feb. 2020,                        https://classism.org/about-class/what-is-classism/.

“Yo, is this..”

Lissette Ochoa Domestic Violence Case: One of The Most Well Known Cases of Spousal Abuse

The appalling reality for many women and girls worldwide.

by Group A on November 15th, 2021

Lauren Preston: Hello everyone and welcome back to our conversational blog! This week Laney Stroud and Justine Ouellet have teamed up with me to discuss a topic that the three of us feel really passionate about.

Laney Stroud: Yes, this is a topic that has been on our minds more and more lately and we are looking forward to sharing it with all of you! Now, without future ado this week on Yo, is this…we will be discussing domestic violence, specifically the case of Lissette Ochoa.

Laney Stroud: When I started looking into this case I was really curious to know about the background of domestic violence. I did some digging and I found this statistic from the CDC and it says that one in three women experience physical or sexual violence at least one time in their life. While one in seven men experiences physical or sexual violence at least one time in their life. 

“ 

Many of these women, about 45%, never end up reporting these acts of violence. 45%…that is just shocking to me. Almost half of the women never even report it. Imagine sitting in one of your classes of 100 students (all women), knowing that thirty-three of them will experience violence. That is just absolutely crazy to think about.

Lauren Preston: Wow, Laney, those chances are so high. I truly thought the chances were a lot lower. So who is Lissette Ochoa and what is her story?

Justine Ouellet: I’m glad you asked, I did some research and I found that Lissette Ochoa, is a young Colombian woman, unfortunately, she finds herself in one of the best-known cases of spousal abuse in Colombia. 

Laney Stroud:  I know her husband, Rafael Dangond’s a high celebrity status, which is most likely why the case blew up worldwide. Dealing with the case, Lissette and her husband Rafael attend a wedding party at an exclusive high-end Country Club, where I believe the incident occurred. 

Lauren Preston: It’s insane to me that such a violent act could start at a place like this! As they were invited to dance with friends, her husband Rafael sees a young man dancing on Lissette while sitting at a table alone. He is clearly distraught. I understand how Rafael may feel in this situation as I would never want to see my significant other with someone else. 

Justine Ouellet: I totally feel the same way! If I saw my significant other with someone else I would be very hurt as well. This leads to Rafael leaving the bathroom where he was presumably taking drugs as he came out with reddened eyes. These drugs led him to become angry and jealous, dragging and exiting her out of the building after she had returned to her seat. 

Laney Stroud: I understand how someone can feel during this situation but I don’t think it permits you to overuse drugs as well as alcohol. Also, it doesn’t allow you to hurt someone else. Lisette is thrown into the car and battered and beaten by her husband, he drives off. Rafael proceeds to assault his wife for two more hours as he drives around the city erratically. 

Lauren Preston: Lissette finally finds herself locked and hiding in the bathroom, calling her father and warning him that Rafael was armed and ready to kill himself. Laney and Justine, what would you guys do in this type of situation?

Justine Ouellet: I honestly would do the same thing. She knew that she could lock herself in the bathroom and find a space to call her father and gain freedom! 

Laney Stroud: I completely agree with you, Justine! Sadly, Rafael knocks down the bathroom door, enters the bathroom, and fires a bullet, grazing Lissette’s armpit. This act alone is the act of intent to murder. She proceeds to exit as her father arrives to see Lissette. He has stated that she looked as if a character in the film The Exorcist. Her eyes were purple and swollen shut, her upper lip was swollen to her nose and she had left the room crawling.

Lauren Preston: I can’t imagine the pain and trauma she went through. This incident alone can haunt you for the rest of your life and Lissette may have experienced this sort of trauma several times. News reports state, after leaving her house with her father, she spent almost a month in a clinic in a “lamentable” state due to the physical trauma she had gone through as well as having several fractures in her body. 

Justine Ouellet: Glady relating back to the beginning of our conversation, the case reached a worldwide level with the help of her aunt, Astrid Amador. She had emailed pictures of her daughter to the media and her story leading to rapid growth in her case. Shortly after her case was initiated and Lisette filed for divorce. 

Lauren Preston: Luckily, Rafael later turned himself in to authorities and was jailed in El Bosque Prison. It makes me so happy that someone who committed such an act of violence came forward and allowed himself to be apprehended. The physical and mental pain he committed towards Lisette was absolutely awful! 

Justine Ouellet: He later was convicted of assault and battery, homicide intent, and carrying an illegal weapon. The attorney later finalized the case and revoked the preventative detention which temporarily sets Rafael free. He was sentenced to five years in jail for the presumably attempted murder and physical assault of his wife. Rafael later states and acknowledges his drug addiction and psychological problems which include personality change issues. 

Laney Stroud: Rafael publicly apologizes to his wife and family for the violence that he has commented on and says he still loves Lissette. At this point, Lissette most definitely never wants to see Rafael again and I understand why. There are hundreds and thousands of similar cases similar to Lissette’s worldwide. These acts of violence happen every single day and almost half do not get reported. 

Lauren Preston: I do believe that many women feel trapped and stuck in their relationship after experiencing violence and feel as if they cannot leave.  Many women while trying to leave an abusive relationship experience psychological, financial, and physical threats. The constant fear of leaving and level of trauma can lead to the lack of confidence to leave. 

Justine Ouellet: As we took a deeper look into Lissette’s case, we all recognized that something as little as a punch compared to almost killing your wife seems to be on completely different ends of the spectrum, while in reality, they are all acts of physical or sexual abuse and need to be addressed.

Lauren Preston: You know this reminds me a lot of the “One” and “Other” concepts that I read about in The Second Sex by Simone deBeauvoir. I know Justine and Laney already know this concept, but for our readers out there who do not know it, let me explain. The author explains that women are naturally inferior when it comes to men, therefore they are considered “Other”. The “One” has power over the “Other”, the construction of gender in our society encourages these inequalities. Her husband clearly thought he was superior over her and he took advantage of her and treated her with no respect. She was not treated as if she had the same privileges, rights, or control over her own life. When he did that he established that there was a level of contrast between men and women.

THIS WEEK’S

TOP STORIES

Impacts of Domestic Violence and the Lissette Case

by Group A November 15, 2021

Laney Stroud: Today, we are talking about Domestic Violence throughout the world. It’s stated that on average, nearly 20 people per minute are abused by an intimate partner. This creates something over 10 million people per year being abused. Not only can this come in physical harm but also, mental, homicides, stalking, and rape. In the intro above, we touched on a specific case that we wanted to dive into today, which is the domestic abuse case of Lissette Ochoa.

Justine Ouellet: This case we’ve introduced today is widely known in Colombia because of the severity and attention that was brought to it. This is something that is a sensitive topic for people due to the fact that it can be so relatable to so many people or even those who know others who have dealt with this issue. 

Lauren Preston: Yeah, this case is so detailed as well. They pretty much lay out exactly what happened leading up to the argument and during. Definitely, something that should not be taken lightly, or if you are someone who has gone through something like this and may find it triggering we do not want you to continue reading.

Laney Stroud: This whole case was over a man dancing with Dangond’s (the husband) wife. It was stated in the report that Dangond had seen this happening, went to the bathroom to either consume some sort of alcohol or drugs before returning back to the party. 

Justine Ouellet: It’s scary to think you know someone so well, someone you love and put trust in to protect you, and things like this happen over something so small or that could be simply fixed by an intimate conversation after the party.

Lauren Preston: I can’t imagine the fear Lissette must have felt in those moments, locking herself in the bathroom just to try to escape. Calling her father to have him come to rescue her.

Laney Stroud: Even the thought of her father receiving a message like that and having to see his daughter crawling out of her apartment completely black and blue has to be so upsetting and traumatic. Her father had trust in her husband too I would believe. I can only imagine the guilt and fear he felt when this happened.

Justine Ouellet: Luckily for Lissette, she is alive and her husband was also arrested for about three months. He did publicly state an apology and is receiving help currently. He says, “he recognizes he had a psychological and drug addiction problem, including personality issues, and that he was being treated by professionals who were also treating their two children”.

Lauren Preston: This is something that I think had to have taken a lot of self-reflection and time on his part to come back from something like that, especially actively seeking help and acknowledging his problems, unlike most people or abusers.

Laney Stroud: I agree, being able to understand you’re in the wrong and putting forth the effort to fix your problems to either save your marriage or become a better person overall is tough to completely throw yourself into.

Justine Ouellet: The whole topic, in general, is so crazy and impactful to probably so many women around the world and I think not only should we be thanking Lissette for speaking up but, for her aunt as well who spent so much of her time creating traction for this story and letting it be known that this male aggression and anger must be stopped.

Justine Ouellet: If you are new to our blog you may not know this but to our subscribers, you guys know we talk a lot about systemic injustice in this blog. So Lauren and Laney, would you guys consider this systemic injustice?

Lauren Preston: Oh, definitely!

Laney Stroud: Yes, of course! Justine before you dive deeper into the systemic injustice topic I want to begin by defining it in terms of domestic violence for our blog readers who may not know what it is. 

“ 

Domestic violence is not just an individual or even a family issue, but a problem that has the capacity to have negative consequences on society. Negative developmental impacts on children exposed to trauma impact their schoolwork and mental health. Survivors of domestic abuse may suffer the consequences of lost wages and lost financial support from an abusive spouse or partner (“Why Domestic Violence is a Public Justice Issue”). 

Lauren Preston: I personally think it is key that the government considers the way other institutions and the way the dynamics of society impacts spouses and families. It is important that our government provides education and counseling for marriage, and that they try to provide funding to increase the awareness of domestic violence and to support the victims of it. Some other ways the government can help are by providing shelter, hotlines, counseling, food assistance, and childcare vouchers.

Justine Ouellet: I totally agree, and sharing this story is so important. For those out there reading this, we wanted to give you all a little advice when it comes to domestic violence. Now before I begin, if you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence please reach out or encourage them to reach out and get the help they need. The National Domestic Violence Hotline has a lot of great resources including a line to call, text, or live chat.

Laney Stroud: Yes, The National Domestic Violence Hotline is such a great resource. When I was looking at the site one of the advice tips they shared was about the Cycle of Abuse. I think that is such a great piece of advice to be aware of. It can be hard to admit it is even occurring, it makes me wonder if Lissette knew about this cycle of abuse, if that would have enabled her to leave this relationship sooner or if she and her husband could have received the help they needed sooner. Sometimes knowing about resources like this literally can save a person’s life. 

Yo, is this Inc.

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Work Cited

“Why Domestic Violence Is a Public Justice Issue.” Shared Justice, https://www.sharedjustice.org/most-recent/2017/7/27/why-domestic-violence-is-a-public-justice-issue. Accessed 15 Nov. 2021.

“Lissette Ochoa domestic violence case.” Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias, https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/4318878. Accessed 19 November 2021.

“National Statistics.” NCADV, https://ncadv.org/STATISTICS. Accessed 19 November 2021.

Written By: Stephanie Hopfinger, WIlliam Schreer & Brynn McGowan

Pay Gap History- United States

Gender and racial pay gaps are not surprisingly linked to America’s history with labor. What is America’s history with black laborers? Slavery. Enslaved black people were exploited to further the economic growth of America. Slavery was followed by Jim Crow, segregation, mass incarceration, and the consistent policies that prohibited black Americans to access to financial opportunities. Policy makers prevented black women from obtaining good-paying jobs by requiring expensive licensing that were often financially inaccessible. This pushed freed black women into returning to work they did while enslaved. Today, we see remnants of this with 13% of all maids and service workers are black women. On average black women earn 62 cents on the dollar when compared to white men (Glynn, 2018). These gaps exist in most occupational fields. Even when comparing fields that are dominated by males, an equivalently skilled female dominated job still has a pay gap (Hegewisch,2014).

What factors are allowing pay gaps to exist?

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act banned discrimination of the basis of race, color, religions, sex, and national origin. This allowed the first steps for black women to enter higher paying jobs. But the data around gender and wages shows that once an occupation has too high a number of women, wages quickly decline. For centuries, women have done the bulk of the unpaid domestic labor which has permanently deemed women’s labor as inferior.

Solution to the pay gap? 

The first solution to solving the pay gap is to find where the pay gaps are existing. Pay audits need to be done to monitor the differences in pay through racial and gender lenses. The equity of promotions, bonuses, and salaries all need to be monitored to begin solving this issue. Next wage disclosures should be made public and accessible. Transparency about wages will help future negotiations and keep the markets within occupational fields more even. 

Next offering benefits such as family and medical leave to all employees equally regardless of gender. Paid leave for caregiving and personal medical reasons are supports that can address out-of-workplace gender and racial disparities. Hiring practices are also in need of being reformed. Employers need to strive for equitable practices through implicit bias training of management and HR members. Employers should also pledge to maintain diversity within upper-level management. 

Pay Gap – Britain 

The gender pay gap is not something new. It has been around for a long time. Although the disparity within the pay gap has been advancing towards equality for women to earn the same amount as men, society still has ways to go. Not only does gender put women behind men in the pay gap, but race contributes to the pay gap in Britain.

Black women are least likely to be top earners in society. 

According to a study by the London School of Economics, black women are least likely in society to be among top earners in Britain. The study discovered that 1.3% of white men in the UK are in the top 1% of wage earners while less than 0.1% of UK-born black women are in the top wage earners. When analyzing pay over the past 17 years based on gender instead of race, researchers found 0.2% of UK-born white women are in the top 1%. This statistic is alarming and more people should be addressing this issue. The finding that black women are least likely to be top earners in Britain automatically makes black women have a disadvantage in their careers. No matter what social class they grew up in.

Women earning less than men is a systemic injustice.

Women earning less than men is a systemic injustice since men often earn more than women regardless of how well they perform their job. No matter if a black woman is from the UK or another country, she still has the lowest probability of being a top earner; this is an example of systemic racism because black women are the ones being affected the most by income disparity. Moreover, researchers sought to work out if discrepancies could be explained by black women taking up careers with lesser chances to be promoted, having greater childcare responsibilities than other women, working fewer hours, or having fewer educational qualifications. However, even after trying to control age, education, marital status, hours, and occupation, researchers found no substantial differences for black women.

What’s the Solution? 

Even though society has made headway towards equal pay, this problem is not over yet. It will most likely take many years to make change and have an equal pay stick in the workforce. In order to fix this systemic injustice, pay gaps need to be talked about in order for there to be solutions to them. Businesses need to improve their diversity by hiring different races and genders. They also need to be transparent about pay and not dishonest about how much they pay the average white male employee. Most importantly, all women should have access to some type of female leadership course so they know how to stand up for themselves and their pay. In an ideal workforce, everyone would have an equal chance for being the top earner. By taking action as a society, we can work closer to achieving gender equal pay.

Why Intersectionality Matters…
The concept of Intersectionality deals with the idea that social categorizations such as age, gender, and race are interconnected and therefore need to be addressed together as opposed to separately. The concept was created by Kimberle Crenshaw as an acknowledgement that each individual has unique experiences with discrimination, so trying to solve an issue about one categorization without taking into account the other categories does little to solve the overall issue. The pay gap that exists in both the United States and Great Britain is an example of an injustice that intersects multiple categories. This results in the solution to the issue being much more complex, as a solution that may work for one group of people might impact another very little or even have an adverse effect.

Take the issues of racial and gender discrepancies in the workforce as an example. As shown above, the pay gap does not only exist within gender comparisons but is further disportioned when race is intersected. If each country’s respective governments choose to address the pay gap just between men and women, then the racial disparities are not taken into account.If gender inequality is only addressed the pay gap amongst white women and black women would likely be furthered. Women of color are affected most. A solution would need to address different intersectional facets.

Understanding that the pay gap is an intersectional injustice is vital. Racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia and many other forms of bias exist within the wage gap. For equitable pay to exist we must first be able to identify the variables of discrimination.

Let’s Sum It Up: Why Does the Pay Gap Exist?

It has been more than 50 years since the Equal Pay Act was enacted and nearly 50 since Title IX- so why is there still a huge inequality between men’s  and women’s pay?

There are three main reasons for the pay gap

1. Occupational Segregation
   Stereotyping a woman’s skills and abilities results in women being in female dominated occupations. Female dominated occupations are often associated with low pay. Some of these occupations include cleaning, catering, administration, care, retail, etc.
2. Lack of flexible working
   Many women experience discrimination and face disadvantages in their careers since they are more likely than men to care for children or older people. Not only do women face caretaker responsibilities, they can lose their job or miss out on pay if they are pregnant. Both of these situations lead to a lack of flexible working for women which means they have to look for part-time work to balance their life. Most part-time work is low paying which contributes to the gender pay gap. Part- time work also has a long-term damaging effect on women’s wages even if they return to full-time work. 
3. Discrimination in pay and grading systems
   There is widespread discrimination for the pay system in the workforce. Many women are paid less for the same work as their male coworkers. Although this difference in pay might not be intentional, there are problems within the pay system that lead to inequalities. An example includes women not receiving the same access to training as men.
   The pay gap has always been, and continues to be, extremely prevalent in America and Great Britain because of the concept of the other. Those who are privileged enough to define one as an “other” have never been marginalized and therefore have no one to compare themselves to in a situation where they do not come out on top. Wages have always been set by white men because, throughout most of history, they were the only ones being paid for their labor. And even though many marginalized groups have gained more rights and increased wages, they still are not equitable to white males.

Dev Patel, Sanchali Banerjee, Sterling Jones
Link to the original article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/09/us/varsity-blues-scandal-verdict.html